End The Hiring Freeze! The VA Needs Workers!

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The current hiring freeze on government jobs is hurting those who have sacrificed the most for their country.

**Nearly half a million veterans are still facing wait times of a month or longer before even seeing a doctor**. A major contributor to that lag in service are the 45,000 unfilled positions, according to the _New York Times_, in the Department of Veterans Affairs. There is no shortage of Americans qualified to work in these positions, but as long as the hiring freeze put in place by the Trump Administration is still in effect, there are no improvements in sight at the VA, either.

The executive order issued on Monday, Jan. 23 did exempt 73 different VA jobs from the freeze, including medical practitioners, psychologists, nurses, and security guards, but support staff will not be added.

Garry Augustine, executive director of Disabled American Veterans Washington headquarters, is concerned President Trump has not considered the impact the freeze will have on veterans seeking care from the VA.

"There are more than 389,000 disability claims pending and more than 450,000 veterans awaiting appeals decisions — many seriously ill and injured — and delaying these decisions can negatively impact eligibility for the health care and benefits they earned," Augustine wrote on Jan. 27 on his organization's website.

The order was derided by every Democratic senator, and several Republicans have asked for further clarifications from the White House. VA physicians have also criticized the freeze.

"You cannot provide front-line care without the support staff," Dr. Katherine Mitchell, an emergency-room physician in the Phoenix VA Health Care System, told the_New York Times_. "Doctors can't do their jobs without people to schedule appointments or clean rooms or do physical therapy. Common sense says we need all health care workers to be exempt. If not, I don't think it is a stretch to say **people will die**."

This sweeping measure hurts American veterans who have already given so much in fighting for our freedoms.

**Sign below to tell President Trump to lift the government hiring ban and fill the tens of thousands of open positions at the VA, helping our veterans get the healthcare they deserve.**